Danny Jordaan wins Safa presidential election by 157 votes to 82

Danny Jordaan has secured another term as president of the South African Football Association (Safa), defeating Sandile Zungu in Saturday’s election at Vodaworld in Midrand.

Election officials confirmed that Jordaan received 157 votes, compared with 82 for Zungu, giving him a convincing victory in one of the most closely watched Safa presidential contests in recent years.

The result means Jordaan will be almost 80 years old by the end of his new four-year term if he remains in office throughout.

Jordaan has led Safa since 2013, when he succeeded Kirsten Nematandani. He now faces renewed pressure to improve the organisation’s fortunes after a period marked by instability.

The president did not give interviews during the build-up to the election, but he is expected to face continued demands to strengthen the running of the association and address concerns over its governance.

His immediate priorities include the start of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying campaign. Bafana Bafana begin their qualifiers at the end of the month with matches against Guinea and Eritrea.

Jordaan’s new national executive committee (NEC) will also be responsible for ensuring that coach Pitso Mosimane and his technical team receive adequate preparation for those fixtures.

The president will then turn his attention to legal proceedings scheduled for November. He faces allegations of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and theft relating to more than R1.3m in Safa funds.

Zungu had campaigned on a pledge to transform South African football. His proposals included restoring governance and integrity within Safa, improving the game at grassroots level and placing greater emphasis on women’s football and schools’ football.

The election took place amid concerns about the treatment of delegates. Before the vote, Safa said several delegates had received death threats, intimidation and harassment, and that the matter had been reported to the police.